Greatest striker

[High Street Ken]

The Guardian has been running a poll on the world's greatest strikers ever (results below). Given that David Villa, Lineker and Inzaghi are on the list, surely Drogs should've featured. He's terrified defences at every level for may years and won the golden boot in the greatest league in the world.

Certain names below have a mystique about them but I doubt many on this list wreaked such consistent havoc as Drogs.

23% Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima

17.8% Diego Maradona

15% Pelé

1% Jimmy Greaves

0.3% Hugo Sanchez

2.8% Ferenc Puskás

0.7% George Weah

7.5% Marco van Basten

4.3% Gerd Müller

0.3% Just Fontaine

0.3% Jean-Pierre Papin

1.4% Eusebio

8.4% Dixie Dean

4.6% Dennis Bergkamp

2.1% Alfredo Di Stéfano

0.7% Samuel Eto'o

2% Gabriel Batistuta

1.1% Bobby Charlton

0.7% David Villa

1.5% Gary Lineker

0.7% Filippo Inzaghi

0.9% John Charles

0.2% Nándor Hidegkuti

2.3% Romário

0.2% Emilio Butragueño

[Backbiter]

The Guardian has also been running a poll on the world's all-time greatest midfielders .

Their top 4, as voted by their readers, but in no particular order:

Zidane

Maradona

Cruyff

Gerrard

There is now a debate about the sanity of the voters. It just confirms the astonishing depths of the delusions of Scouse supporters.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/oct/24/steven-gerrard-world-xi?showallcomments=true#end-of-comments

The poll was put together after a series of Observer and Guardian writers made a case for players for a set of positions

So the journos are just as culpable.

[sweet waffle]

Here's the full team, the inclusion of Gerrard is just wrong.

[Maksimov]

Gerrard? He wouldn't get into my Premiership team of the season, let alone all time greatest eleven. And that's not because he plays for Liverpool, but because he's just not good enough.

[c3blu]

'only Maradona comes close' to Gerrard............. WTF.

These people are insane, Gerrard would struggle to get into an English best ever midfield. Is he better than Bobby Chalton? Let alone a world 11. Would you rather Gerrard or Messi on the right of midfield? I know thats really not the point in terms of an all time list of the worlds greatest and there different types of players so what about an in his prime Ruud Gullit?

Gerrard ha ha ha ha ha.

[Hutch]

My favourite comment:

Steven Gerrard shouldn't even be in a 'Best Footballers That My Mum Can Name' XI, let alone an all-time XI.

[Andreas]

Must be a joke

[Cam]

So...all those people must be right.

I better go make a Gerrard shrine and thank God for his unholy footballing ability. From this point forward, I am a Liverpool fan.

Scouse out.

[TheWestwayWonder]

Even as a case of ballot stuffing its amazing. I could think of 10 or more midfielders playing right today that are more deserving.

"Only Maradonna comes close" lol holy fcuk

[sizzler85]

The world's greatest striker surely is the certain "Il Phenomeno" for me ..

Ronaldo can dazzle and entertain , score goals and is a absolute treat to watch ! I wonder what would have been the stats if he was spared from his knee problems .. clearly the winner - Premier league missed this eternal champion !!!

It irritates me to see a thug with the same name these days ... sad that the name "ronaldo" these days is associated with Cristiano Ronaldo

[Backbiter]

To go back to the original post....some people actually voted for Eto'o, Papin and Inzaghi.

And isn't it comical that a team representative of the finest talents to ever play the game should be set up by the Guardian as a 4-4-2, apparently for no other reason than to accommodate Stevie GBH, at the expense of a winger such as Best or Messi.

Utterly insane.

I think I'll add this comment to their website.

Edited October 25, 2010 by Backbiter

[Maksimov]

To go back to the original post....some people actually voted for Eto'o, Papin and Inzaghi.

Yet no one voted for the all time top scorer in European Cup/Champions League(=Raul). At least Inzaghi is the runner up on the top scorers list, but Papin and Eto'o?

[Englishman]

That would make a good 'spot the odd one out' quiz.

Zidane, Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, Beckenbauer, uh... Gerrard.

[Tea Bar Boy]

That would make a good 'spot the odd one out' quiz.

Zidane, Pele, Cruyff, Beckenbauer, uh... Gerrard.

That's easy Pele he never won the European Cup .........................................

[Tea Bar Boy]

Must be a joke

It must be how does Inzaghi get a mention ?

[Maksimov]

It must be how does Inzaghi get a mention ?

For being the the runner up on the all time European club competition top scorer list? His goals may not have been pretty, but he definitely knew how to score them and he did it in big matches as well.

[Tea Bar Boy]

For being the the runner up on the all time European club competition top scorer list? His goals may not have been pretty, but he definitely knew how to score them and he did it in big matches as well.

I never knew that ? Never thought he was that good to be honest but probably keep getting confused with his brother .

[dkw]

I never knew that ? Never thought he was that good to be honest but probably keep getting confused with his brother .

Hes the epitome of a striker you would say "all he does is score goals" about. Never that quick, not too good a first touch, almost always offside, cant pass, cant tackle....but he doesnt half score some goals.

Edited October 25, 2010 by dkw

[Maksimov]

I never knew that ? Never thought he was that good to be honest but probably keep getting confused with his brother .

Filippo has been much better than his brother. He just knows how to be in the right place at the right time and he doesn't care if the ball bounces off of his arse if the ball ends up in the goal. Many of his goals are ugly tap ins or otherwise scrappy goals, but he does score plenty of them.

It's easy to hate him but I bet Milan fans love all the goals he's scored for them.

[Maksimov]

Hes the epitome of a striker you would say "all he does is score goals" about. Never that quick, not too good a first touch, almost always offside, cant pass, cant tackle....but he doesnt half score some goals.

I think his goals against Liverpool in the 2007 Champions League final win show the two sides of Inzaghi.

First it's this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHACW4tlo5w

And then it's this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0EYKl7RABE&feature=related

[dkw]

Plus, the answer to the original question is obviously Arthur Scargill.

[Englishman]

Filippo has been much better than his brother. He just knows how to be in the right place at the right time and he doesn't care if the ball bounces off of his arse if the ball ends up in the goal. Many of his goals are ugly tap ins or otherwise scrappy goals, but he does score plenty of them.

It's easy to hate him but I bet Milan fans love all the goals he's scored for them.

Inzaghi was in the same mould as Hasselbaink, a great goalscorer despite not being a very good footballer. Ancelotti said of him:

"Inzaghi is the best striker in the box I have ever seen. As a predator. He has a smell. More than 70 per cent of his goals were with one touch. Which means he is arriving in the right position."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1323014/The-Matt-Lawton-interview-So-secrets-Carlo-Ancelottis-success.html

[Maksimov]

Inzaghi was in the same mould as Hasselbaink, a great goalscorer despite not being a very good footballer.

Hasselbaink was a far more physical striker than Inzaghi is and he could blast them in from distance, which is something I can't remember Inzaghi ever doing. I don't think I've ever seen Inzaghi score a goal from outside the penalty area.

[Barry Bridges]

HAHAHHAHAH Gerrard in the world best 11?!?!?

thanks for this post..... I really needed that laugh

[Katon]

In the voters' defence, once you've decided to play Zidane and Maradona as a two-man central midfield the idea of your right mid charging miles out of position to tackle somebody starts sounding a lot more attractive. I mean, who on earth are they expecting to win the ball back? Ridiculous lineup.